The ‘war on drugs’ has become a harsh and unnecessary measure that frankly costs American taxpayers far too much money. If the type of imprisonment suffered by nonviolent offenders is now deemed cruel and unusual, does the punishment really fit the crime? This is the question American citizens must ask themselves as they consider how far they must go in order to keep drug use and abuse under control. One of the many effects of the severe penalties for drug use is unjust incarceration. The average citizen may correctly point out that everyone has the right to due process and therefore innocent people are not simply sentenced to prison.
A common question has been rising from the voices of many politicians, is the United States Prison system worth the cost? A better question might be, is paying a little extra worth keeping this effective system or would one rather see the filth and crime spill onto the streets and into neighborhoods of innocent unsuspecting civilians? Is risking public safety really worth saving a bit of tax dollars? One then must see that there should not be a price on the safety of the mass. There should be no release of large amounts of convicted criminals.
They will withhold critical evidence from the defense team and will resort to immoral if not illegal tactics in their investigation of the offense. Their personal opinion is that they actually do not care if the defendant is guilty or innocent, they just want a conviction. They want to extract their pound of flesh. Also researchers have determined that some of the causes of prison overcrowding are harsher penalties for criminal activities, changes to laws that make new actions illegal, high recidivism rates and needed improvements to the penal system. Once the causes of crowding have been fixed researchers can begin to address the problems it causes and deal with them.
And of course none of these are good escape routes from poverty and we all believe in the term "poverty causes crime". But it’s not always the poor who commits crime. Mostly the poor or the middle class people will go after crimes to fulfill their temporary desires. For example raping, stealing and sometimes murder too. Since the low class poor people are not usually educated, they often easily “pushed” into the crimes by the high class people.
In our society it is assumed we are all treated equally, but in fact many times this is not true. Minority individuals have a disadvantage in the criminal justice system because of the lack of money, and effective resources. This is very damaging to society and may be a root cause for so many disparity issues today. Factors of Racial Disparity Society cannot be run for the privileged and allow a substantial proportion of the population to be an allowance beyond what is needed. This impacts the quality of life for all of us if we have to “throw away people.”A justice system that tolerates injustice is doomed to collapse (The Sentencing Project, 2000).
A lot of people have proposed the privatization of correctional services in order to save tax money. However, critics feel that this action could serve to encourage the authorities to imprison more individuals, even those accused with petty crimes. Another one of the main disadvantages is that the overcrowding of jails appears to be exhaust government resources and thus the need for private prisons. Private facilities usually offer officials powerful tools to ensure the good conduct of all prisoners. The privatization can also act as a tool against the abuse of authority.
The imprisonment rate in the United States is ridiculous. People are being incarcerated for petty crimes that do not even deserve the time to sit in prison. The more people that are put into jail, the more money the government has to pay for criminal enforcemen Statistics According to author, Christopher Innes in Corrections Today magazine, “Many people believe that the American Correctional system has become a Hummer – more than America needs and increasingly more than it can afford” (The Simple Solution For Reducing Correctional Costs, 02-2010). In other words, America is spending more money on supervision and incarceration for inmates and former inmates when they really do not have the necessary funds to do so. In 1980, there were 1.84 million people under some form of correctional observation, 30 years later, more than 7.5 million people were incarcerated, and that was a 5.66 million difference.
Throughout the current wave of immigration, polls have consistently found that the public, at large, favors curbing immigration. African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans believe the levels of immigration are too high, as well as 90% think that illegal immigration is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem in the U.S. today (Miller). Another main statistic is that 81% think it is unfair to grant rights to illegal immigrants while thousands wait to come to the U.S. legally. However, a focus on this problem
Government officials, politicians, and courts employees have concluded that individuals commit crimes for private alternatives and they should be punished and held responsible for their actions and conduct. Criminals also have the concept that they will never be caught thus they will continue commit crimes until proven otherwise. Large amounts of criminal who have committed offenses do not think about the consequences of their action (Brown, 2007). Today’s society has determined that the root of why an individual would choose to commit crimes is steam from the lack of education and impoverished backgrounds (Brown, 2007). To do wrong and commit crime is a choice of the criminal.
The prosecution, the judge and the defendant all benefit when defense counsel performs in the way the Constitution envisions. The broken public defense system in our State doesn't have to be like this. It can and must be fixed. As a result of these deficiencies, many individuals facing criminal charges are compelled to appear in court without a lawyer at critical junctures, such as when bail decisions are made. This often results in unnecessary or excessive bail being set and keeps people who cannot afford it in jail awaiting trial Many public defense lawyers also fail to: meet or consult with clients at critical stages in their cases; investigate the charges against their clients or hire experts who can assist with case preparation or testify at trial; file necessary pre-trial motions; and provide meaningful consultation before clients accept plea bargains, regardless of whether a charge is appropriate or a viable defense exists.